Someone asked if I ever got into situations like Vivi does? My answer . . . “Not those exact situations of course, but everyone needs a rescue once in a while.”
My daughter and I have had a goal for several years to conquer the bottom section of the Rice Creek Water Chain. A section from Long Lake to the Mississippi River. So a few weeks ago, on a beautiful Saturday, we carved out the three hours it was rumored to take, loaded up our kayaks, and went for it. Six hours later our adventure was completed.
It was a winding, twisty scenic adventure. It’s also downhill as that, I belatedly realized, happens to topography when a creek enters a river. What does that mean? It means it’s fast. As a bonus, there were a ton of trees in and across the creek. I explored them all, up close and intimately. If anyone had been watching me they would have thought I had never been in a kayak in my life. I hit, went through, or under every piece of fauna from a blade of grass to an oak. Another belated realization was my kayak is too long and too heavy for a fast creek. My nose would be headed toward a clear spot, but the current would whip the back of my kayak sideways and I couldn’t correct quickly enough.
At one point the current kept pushing me deeper and deeper into a downed tree and I had to pull out the little whistle in my life vest because my daughter was so far downstream she couldn’t hear me calling her. (aka whimpering) I couldn’t go under, I couldn’t get out, I straight up needed a rescue.
Was it a Vivi moment? Hmmmm, . . . I had a sidekick, I needed a rescue, everything miraculously turned out just fine, and my husband (playing the role of Hitch in this instance) was definitely shaking his head when he heard about it. So maybe we all have a little Vivi in us from time to time. I know for sure everyone needs a rescue once in awhile.
Carrin Mahmood 